Frank Langella

Actor

Born: 1 January 1940

Birthplace: Bayonne, New Jersey

Best known as: The one who played Nixon in the movie Frost/Nixon

Frank Langella's Oscar nomination for playing former president Richard Nixon in the 2008 film Frost/Nixon came after three decades as a celebrated New York stage actor. Langella's always been on stage -- right out of Syracuse University (1959) and into regional theater, summer stock and, by 1963, New York. After three Obie Awards, he made his Broadway debut in Seascape (1975) and won a Tony award. His turn on stage as the star of Dracula earned him a Tony nomination (1978) and a role in the film version (1979). He's mostly known as a stage actor -- he won another Tony for Fortune's Fool (2002), and a third for Nixon/Frost (2007) -- but he's worked steadily in television and film, with more high-profile roles in recent years. Langella's films include Masters of the Universe (1987, as Skeletor), Dave (1993), Good Night, and Good Luck (2005, starring David Strathairn) and Superman Returns (2006, starring Brandon Routh).

Extra credit: Langella and Michael Sheen both starred in the stage and film versions of Frost/Nixon, with Sheen as British TV host David Frost.